A general contractor in Georgia was turned away by a black family after he arrived at their home with a large Confederate flag flying from his truck.
An Atlanta couple’s interaction with the white man was caught on their home security camera and posted to Facebook, revealing the moment Allison and Zeke Brown turned away the independent contractor, named Michael, according to Yahoo Lifestyle.
General contractor came to my uncles house to do a project. When he arrived my aunt caught his huge confederate flag hanging on the back of his truck. Trust no work was done that day…… she cordially thanked him for making the trip but we’re good love enjoy ? #Atlanta #nottodaysatan #GA #ring @theshaderoom @abcnews @the_newyork_times @ajcnews Good Morning America D.L. Hughley Rickey Smiley
Posted by Ryan Spann on Sunday, June 30, 2019
“Hi, you know what, I do apologize, I know you’ve come from a very long way, but we’re going to use someone else,” Allison Brown, 40, could be heard on the video speaking to the contractor as he got out of his truck.
“She’s upset with the flag,” her husband Zeke, 48, told Michael.
“No, I’m beyond upset with the flag,” she interjected, as the contractor offered to take the flag down.
“No, you don’t need to take it down. You can continue to believe what you need to believe, sir,” she responded. “But no, I cannot pay you for your services. Thank you, have a good day.”
The video showed Michael then got back in his truck and drove away.
Zeke Brown, a manager at a health care tech company, had spoken to the contractor for three days before the appointment to replace the brakes on a golf cart and never expected him to arrive with a truck bearing the flag.
“He hadn’t been disrespectful prior, so seeing the flag did not fit my preconceptions,” he told Yahoo Lifestyle. “The flag was absurd — I had to walk back into the house to calm myself down.”
He initially came into a room where his wife was cleaning a closet and said, “God is testing me.”
“When my husband told me about the flag, I said, ‘Let me handle this,’” Allison Brown said.
“I didn’t want to be the ‘angry black woman’ but I wanted him to learn and feel that bottom-line loss,” she said. “You don’t go to Germany and wave the Nazi flag. It’s the same thing.”
“I thought, ‘Maybe there is hope for someone like him or an opportunity to save him from this way of thinking,” her husband added. “And I wanted that flag off my property — as one of the few black families in our subdivision, what would the neighbors think of a Confederate symbol in our driveway?”
The contractor reportedly sent a message saying, “I didn’t know the flag offended y’all.”
The comment prompted a response from Zeke Brown who explained how the flag is “extremely offensive to anyone of color,” in a conversation that was captured in screenshots on Facebook Messenger which were shared with Yahoo Lifestyle.
“Yes, it is extremely offensive to anyone of color. I understand it is part of American history, but that flag stood for a time in history where people such as myself had a very bad way of life,” Brown wrote. “Micheal, I hope this small interaction causes you to do a little research on how several Americans feel about the Confederacy. I know it’s part of history, so is Nazi Germany…”
Michael noted that he was displaying the controversial flag for the Fourth of July.
“My little siblings bought it from a flea market,” he told Yahoo Lifestyle.
“I don’t support slavery and neither do my siblings.,” he added. “But I am not going to take it down when my siblings asked me to fly it. If [the family] wants to take offense, they can.”
Many social media reactions to the video were supportive of the Browns and commended Allison for remaining calm and polite.
Okay this lady was more polite then I would have been. Good on her, she’s right.
— Rachel Maria (@rachel_maria65) July 2, 2019
She was brilliant!
I applaud her calm demeanor ??FACT:
No thoughtful human being should employ this guy… regardless of what race you are. Saving a few dollars isn’t worth losing your humanity.— Shopgirl ???☮️ (@idnac4u) July 2, 2019
It takes a person of extraordinary stupidity to show up at a black person’s house with a CSA flag on their truck or person.
— Ryan Quattro (@forzaquattro77) July 2, 2019
Meet my new heroes, Alison and Zeke Brown. https://t.co/NVowliSPai
— Tracey Morris (@dettracey813) July 2, 2019
I love this! The arrogance to show up with that flag…and the nerve to offer to remove it? “No, keep being a racist…and pay the consequences.” Stop spending your money on brands and with people who openly hate you.https://t.co/da9Jr0VAZN
— Karen Hunter (@karenhunter) July 3, 2019
But some on Twitter cautioned against judging others and the hypocrisy over the controversial symbol from America’s past.
The guy was very respectful, offering to remove it, and left without making any issue/scene. Sometimes we’re so quick to judge someone. I wouldn’t be surprised if he were married to a black woman.
— Robert Wilkes (@WilkesRoberto) July 2, 2019
hrm. discrimination over a flag if you ask me.
— TMNTFAN85 (@tmntfan85) July 3, 2019
All you people need a serious history lesson. It was a battle flag during that time in history. Had nothing to do with being racist until these dumb ass Democrats created the KKK and adopted the flag as their own.
— Miles Richards (@southernboy521) July 3, 2019
This guy apparently just has it on his truck. He more than likely didn’t even realize the family was black.
— Vicky R Zdenek (@visamoney1) July 3, 2019
Maybe a poor business decision having the flag on his truck in the first place, but can you imagine the backlash if someone had done that over a “pride” flag (especially on video)!
— ron kenney (@KenneyRon) July 3, 2019
Though they had every right to fire this man, personally, I wouldn’t have. It was a great opportunity to engage in some potentially constructive dialogue. RT Black family fires contractor who showed up to job with Confederate flag: videohttps://t.co/3uvwRnfBd7
— Darrell B. Harrison (@D_B_Harrison) July 3, 2019
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.
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